little lumps of lava

[Ironclod Aleeby]

This is kind of related to a question I had last week. It was about a used lamp I bought that flows pretty normally except that there are many, many small lava blobs, some as small as a pinhead. If it weren't for the little blobs, the lamp would be great. I've run it different periods of time to try to get the little blobs to reattach to the main mass, but I haven't had any luck. This is a lava lite brand, dated '94. I'm almost ready to uncap it and massage the wax together by hand. This is really bugging me. Has anyone had this experience and found any solution. I really need help. I love my (3) lamps, and it kills me that this one is sick.

[Kris]

You can just run it until it warms up and starts flowing and then turn it off. How long are you running it for? Sounds like it was shaken honestly.

[Ironclod Aleeby]

I've tried all kinds of timing like that, but whether I turn it off after it just starts or let it go a long time, it doesn't make any difference. The only thing I haven't done is let it go a really way too long time, but I'm afraid to do that because it might get worse. Yes, you're probably right. It was probably shaken. But now that it is what it is, I want to fix it. So I hope somebody has some ideas about that. Seriously, if I uncapped it and poured everything out, can I massage the wax all back together? Then will the stuff go back in afterwards OK?

[Kris]

Don't think you can massage the wax honestly. Once they are shaken I think they are permanently ruined. Bohdan might chime in. He is much more knowledgeable on these matters.

[Keith]

I am not an expert, and I haven't tried this myself, but from what I have read you can try this.
Uncap and pour out the water only, reserving all of the water (leave about a half inch to an inch of water in the globe)
make sure all of the wax stays in the globe
place the globe on the base and turn on the lamp
let the wax melt for a couple of hours, watch to see if the small globs incorporate into the main mass
remember that the wax can overheat so don't run for too long (you may need to cycle the wax like this a couple of times)
when the wax is to your satisfaction, let cool completely, then add the reserved water back to the globe
recap and test
recapping is a challenge on its own. there are several discussions on how to recap. If you can get a bottle-capper, that would be the best way

I am sure that others who are more knowledgeable than I will be posting. Be sure to follow their suggestions, they can bring much more clarity on the issue than I can

[Ironclod Aleeby]

Yeah, I'll try that. Patience I've got lots of. Thanks, Bohdan. And thanks, killerkeith, for your idea - one I'll keep in reserve if all else fails.